I have been working with or attempting to work with a client for quite some time. It has not been going as well as I would like it to.

First of all, he wants to reach his personal potential in climbing, but has been prevented from doing that by one injury after another. As we were finally ready to begin a training program, I get yet another email that indicates that another setback has occurred. In his latest email to me, he says that he will come back after another break better than ever and ready to take on a program.

Now, I know how long we have been trying to work together and how frustrated I would be if I was in his shoes, yet he still comes back with positive energy and a great attitude after each set back. In a later email, he said that he wished that he would stop stringing me along and finally be able to begin his training.

This is what I told my client, your situation has allowed me to reflect upon my own and realize how lucky I have been over the last 20 years. I have been essentially injury free (the broken back being the exception) the whole time. Trying to come back over and over after injury after injury would drive me nuts! I am impressed and inspired by your drive and willingness to not give up.

He responded that he was psyched to be able to inspire me. For your information, anyone who is trying hard at something that they are passionate about be it writing, running or anything is inspiring to me. Especially when things are not going as they wish. It takes a truly special person to hang in there after obstacles prevent them from reaching their goal. So don’t give up and get out and have an adventure!

Over my years of traveling and climbing, I have created an unwritten list of objectives for myself. I call it my list. It’s not a bucket list, because I never intend to be satisfied when it is completed because it can not be completed. It is not written down because I don’t need to stare at these ideas and routes that already constantly float deep within my head.

My list is ever growing and changing as my mood and goals change and as life presents open and closed doors for adventures. I am finding that not every goal on the list is worth going for and I will throw some out due to whether its a genuine goal or whether its just a route that others will be impressed with. Climbing is fun and I want to keep it that way. I am only competitive with myself and will do my best to avoid “racing” to the top.

As the next year unfolds I look forward to keeping to what really interests me in climbing and that is having fun with those whom I tie in with.

That this year has allowed me to reflect on my climbing and why I climb. As we get older and our focus/drive may change, I think that we all need to constantly try to understand why we like or dislike the activities that we participate in or choose to avoid like the plague. This is so that I can always be motivated and so I can always be in the best state of mind to accomplish what I want to accomplish and what needs to be accomplished.

Here are a few reason why I climb:

I love being outside away from the city (really it is the most important thing)

I was fortunate to have two mini climbing trips squeezed into my brief summer holiday. My school year in Grand Junction just keeps getting shorter and shorter every year. Soon I bet we will be working year round which will change things up a bit I am sure. But anyway I first headed to the New River Gorge to play on the rocks that I began climbing on over 20 years ago. Needless to say, I was very excited.

My climbing and training partner and one of my best friends Ben joined me for the trip. One week and the goal was to just climb 3-5 star routes first go. That means we wanted to onsight as many different routes that we could each day. It was extremely challenging to do that because neither of us had been climbing too much at that time and we certainly didn’t know the ebb and flow of the sandstone features of the New. Many of the routes that we chose were established by the two most prolific first ascensionists of the New River Gorge. Doug Reed and Porter Jared. I remember reading their names in the guidebook when I was just learning to climb and wondered what it would be like to establish a new rock climb. Now over twenty years later I had the chance to try many of their test pieces and truly enjoy their hard work!

We arrived in the rain and I was not even phased. I new there was overhung terrain with classic routes to try so we immediately went there the day that we stepped off the plane in Charleston, WV. As the rain poured down, we climbed pitch after pitch and enjoyed finding a painted turtle at the base of the wall. We also heard one of the loudest thunder from the storm overhead. The rest of the week was filled with a chance of rain on partly cloudy days. High heat and high psyched destroyed my fingertips so I had to do my best to try classic climbs that didn’t have tiny grips. Ben and I had a great time overcoming the sun, rain, finger pain (from worn out skin) and the complex sequences of the New River Gorge.

Coming back to hang with the locals after each day on the rocks was always fun and even depressing at times. Its always fun getting to know new people but hearing about all the other amazing routes that we should try in the Gorge just make me sick to my stomach. I just wanted to try them all and eventually send them and the fact that I was there in the middle of summer for just 7 days made me bummed out. Needless to say when I woke up each next morning, I knew that it was my chance to tick some a few more of the classics off the enormous list. Anyway, the list is still long and I learned a lot about onsighting when I was tired.

This photo isn’t from the trip cause I can’t to locate them. I think that when I had to return my laptop, I lost the trip photos. Bummed.

We use it for one week out of the month so that we don’t get used to just one type of training. Cardio workouts that significantly increase your heart rate will positively impact your efforts at the sports/activities that you love!